Another Day as Rowan
by Nico-lovin-4ever
Summary: Sequel to No Regrets! Rowan Mario Di Angelo is now fourteen and not only has to deal with being a teenager, but also a demi-god. Troubles brewing in Olympus and it's up to Rowan and his friends to save the day. Written by me and Lightning Punk!
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! I finally have time to write this story that I have a feeling I wasn't the only one really excited about. I took a break for a while, focusing on soccer and high school, and now I'm back to bring you this story. This, obviously, stars the children from No Regrets a few thirteen years later. I'll still have some Thalico and a little Percabeth thrown in here for the heck of it, but they're not the main characters.**

**So, without further ado, here's the first chapter! I hope you guys are kind enough to review.**

**Disclaimer: The only things I own in this story are the kids of Rick's characters. **

Rowans pov

The first time it happened, I was six.

It was Halloween night; I guess you could say the perfect night for this type of thing. This was my first year in elementary school which meant I could FINALLY go to the fall festival they have. All the older kids in my neighborhood always talked about going in there costumes, riding every ride five times, and, especially, the hay ride.

Since Aunt Annie was about to have a baby, my mom decided to stay with her at the Jacksons. So dad, Maya, Uncle Percy and I stood in line at the hayride that night with about 30 other disguised kids, anticipating what might happen on it this year.

"I bet you'll pee your pants," Maya whispered meanly to me as we approached the ticket desk. That night, she was dressed as Snow White, perfect for her black, curly hair and piercing grey eyes. But maybe not so perfect for her personality, mean and heartless.

I shrugged, "If there's anyone who's going to pee their pants, it's you."

The ride was taking place in the huge forest behind the school. According to the other kids, a farmer from nearby loaned his tractor and a trailer to the school. After putting some hay in the back to sit on, kids loaded up and were taken along the paths in the forest. It sounded fun in the daylight, standing in my neighborhood, but now it just seemed creepy.

Once the next group came back, talking about how crazy it was, a man dressed in a hoodie and jeans ushered the four of us to the now empty trailer. My dad helped me and Maya up then, once we were safely sitting down, the two men climbed on board and sat on each side of us. A mom and her two children joined us, too, along with a teenage couple.

My dad turned towards us with a smile on his face, "Are you two ready?"

We both nodded but I knew he knew we were scared. Percy laughed, "I promise, these things are the bomb."

I smiled but, as soon as the tractor started up and a creepy laugh came from the guy driving, I grimaced and cuddled closer to my dad. He put his arm around me and said, referring to my costume "Oh, c'mon, pirates aren't scared of anything."

"Well I'm not a real pirate dad," I replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He chuckled and pulled me closer as we went deeper and deeper in the woods.

As it went on, it wasn't as scary as I thought. Yeah, it was dark, the trees were casting some pretty strange shadows, and the guy driving was a creeper, but I was really enjoying myself.

That is, until my night was completely ruined.

We were about to turn around and go back when something, I'm still not too sure what it was, jumped in front of the tractor. Naturally, the driver pressed on his breaks, thinking it was an animal. We all slung forward, another kid falling out of his seat and onto the bottom of the trailer.

Everyone looked ahead to see what had caused the disruption. Something was there, standing in the headlights. It looked like a dragon up top but it also looked something like a goat around the torso. Something also rather disturbing about it was the fact it was staring straight at me, breathing fiery breaths like it was about to charge.

My dad said something under his breath I couldn't understand then looked me dead in the eye, "STAY. Don't. Move. At. All."

He and Percy shared a look then they both bolted off the trailer. Everyone was screaming, even the driver as the two guys came into view. At that point, I was freaking out so much on the inside, I couldn't even move on the outside. Maya scooted closer to me, whimpering as our dads took weapons out of nowhere and started circling around the thing.

I could only guess this was a monster attack. I heard lecture after lecture about these things but I had never really expected it to happen one day. Now, here I was, stuck watching my dad kill something that wanted to kill us.

I held Mayas hand as Percy stuck his sword through the monsters chest and it disintegrated. Everyone's screams muffled and all was quiet in the woods. They both jumped back on the hayride and told the guy to drive on.

The next summer was me and Mayas first year at camp as the youngest campers to ever be allowed.

Today, eight years later, I know more about that moment than ever. It's kinda like listening to a song you use to love when you were younger. You turn it on and hear all the hidden meanings squished into the words. It's almost disgusting to think you use to burst out this song in your car seat when you heard it on the radio. Now, I can read what happened that night like the back of my hand. The weapons, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, were always there, hidden on the guys we believed could never harm a soul. The people on the ride who I thought could see everything really just saw what they wanted to believe. And being a demigod meant more than just descending from the gods; it meant dealing with things like that on a weekly basis.

I was walking back to my cabin with Maya, my best friend still, after a late July dinner. In ways, she had changed a lot since she was six, but in others, I knew she was the same old Maya Jackson. She still had black, curly hair but it was longer now, almost to her mid back. Her grey eyes seemed to be grayer every time I looked at her. Unfortunately, I'm a short kid, thank you dad, so she almost taller than me, making it me the center of many jokes. She was pretty, too, almost every guy in camp was practically in love with her, but she didn't care about them. The one guy she had trusted with her heart last year had let her down, and she wasn't falling for that crap again.

"So you won't believe what I heard today," she began.

"Probably not, but continue."

After a friendly eye roll, she spoke, "Reese told me Athena's pissed about something and she's plotting to do something about it as we speak."

I couldn't help but be intrigued. Even though it was sad to say, I sorta wanted something to go wrong in the world of demigods. Our parents always talked about the way life was when they were our age, especially about the Titans War. I'm fourteen and I haven't been on one quest yet. True, no one has in years, but it seemed like a thing to try.

"And how would she know this?" I asked. It's not like Reese, the gossip queen daughter of Aphrodite who also happened to be a really good friend of ours, was the most reliable source for this kind of stuff.

Reese shrugged before sighing, "She insist she has her sources. But it makes me wonder. What would she be mad about, enough to make her want to hurt someone?"

Before I could make a smartass remark, she grimaced. I looked up and realized we had made it to the Poseidon cabin, now decorated with junk that looked like it hadn't seen light in years. I gave her a questioningly look. "Bryson decided today would be a GREAT day to clean out under his bed. Gods, he's just like my dad."

She seemed pissed, like so pissed she was going to use that Yankees cap her mom gave her on her last birthday to do some serious damage to her 12 year old uncle. She was like her mom in a lot of ways, according to Percy: OCD, controlling, a genius; but in the end, she's the only person you wanted to be with. So, like any man would, I attempted to calm her down with an apology. Yeah, my mom and dad raised me right.

Instead of giving me a warm smile, she flicked me in the nose. "OWWW!" I complained, rubbing my now throbbing nose. She laughed and ruffled my black, curly hair, even though I tell her I'M the older one at least twice a day, then took the steps two at a time to her cabin.

I walked away, shaking my head, and decided I didn't want to go home quite yet. Veronica, technically my 17 year old aunt, was probably occupying the space with her boyfriend, which was never good to interrupt. So I walked along until I got to the archery fields.

Even though I could throw a pretty mean spear and beat most people when it came to swords, I was the best at archery. I guess it was because of my mom and her huntress past, but I also like to believe it was a gift, just for me. Most of the kids who are as good as me are from the Apollo cabin, so I think of it as a talent.

Tonight, no one was at the range. Perfect. I really needed some time for just me and my bow and arrows. Lately, I had been a little confused, girl wise. Girls seemed to be everywhere in my life. There was the girl in my Greek class that always flirted with me but had a boyfriend. There was the cute girl in my archery class who was awesome, but she doesn't know me that well. Then, there was Mallory.

I grabbed my magical gum container, a gift from my Grandpa Zeus, out of my pocket and took a piece out. Instantly, the little wrapper with the tiny arrow on it transformed into a life size, deadly arrow shaped like a lightning bolt. I then grabbed my bracelet I got from Grandpa Hades, a black band with silver crossbones on it, and pressed on the indention in the back. My bracelet magically changed into a bow, a beautiful one at that with black wood and graffiti related to death carved perfectly down the arch. You could say I was spoiled by my family. I mean, imagine having one mom or dad who was a god. Now imagine having TWO. No comparison, my friend. Not to mention my folks, who would do anything for their only child.

Anyway, I loaded my bow and took a shot, releasing all the pent up energy I had been building up all day. In a second's time, the arrow flew and hit the bulls-eye. Thinking about Mallory's head in the center made it pretty easy to do so.

Mallory might just be the second prettiest girl in the whole camp, only behind Maya. She's a daughter of Nemesis, so she was punk like me, but not too hardcore. She still had the cutest smile and her hazel eyes, that matched her hair almost exactly, always made my heart melt when she laughed. We were only thirteen when she grabbed my heart and took it for the wildest ride of my life. Yes, I realize this is cheesy. I don't know, something about her made me want to give it all to her. Of course, I was too young to actually realize my mistake until it was too late. She was like Lamia, she charmed guys with her beauty and then when they had long past fallen for her, she took an ax to your heart. Time and time again.

So yeah, you could say I was in love with a monster.

Somehow, coming out here always helped me forget things. I mean, sure, I knew when I got back to my cabin I would have seventeen messages from her, begging for forgiveness. I also knew I would have eight messages from my best friend guy friend, Dane, another Nemesis kid, telling me all about the douche bag he saw her with tonight. But when I was out here, it was just me and the stars and this weapon.

Once I had shot enough arrows to where no more would fit on the center, the 10, or the 8 ring, I gave up and decided to head home. Besides, it wouldn't be long before the Harpies would be out and I didn't want to be THAT kid.

So I took all 82 arrows out of the target with the flick of a wrist, opening my gum container and each one carefully sliding back into perfect order. Something the Apollo kids were VERY jealous about at the end of archery class.

Once I had dislodged my bow, I grabbed my Nike bag I had thrown behind me and took my cell phone out of my pocket. Before I even clicked the button at the top to unlock it, I saw I had 19 new text messages and 4 missed phone calls. People are, officially, annoying.

Instead of read each of them and over analyze like I do, I pressed the button on the top and the screen went black. I shoved it back in my bag and decided to take in the night.

It was the beginning of June, meaning I had just got here about a week ago. When I stepped on to the turf in camp last week, it was almost like stepping back into the old Greek times all over again. The cabins were log cabins with small porches on the front. A few, including all of the Big Three and the Hermes cabins, were two to three stories high. There was an arena shaped as a mini coliseum, a courtyard filled with statues of each god and goddess, an amphitheater, a forgery, and even Pegasus stables; anything you could find in an ancient Greece city, you could probably find here. And that's why I loved it here; it really brought me back to my roots.

I walked along, not even paying attention to what was around me. I was more looking above, at the constellations. Every night I looked for my favorite ones which included Hercules and, someone my mom knew, a Huntress named Zoey.

That's when my phone rang.

I sighed and dug through my bag to get it out. I was thinking about excuses I could use to not answer it when I saw the caller ID. MOMMY!

I answered right away, "Hey mom," I greeted. I could feel her smiling through the phone. It's a well known fact I'm her favorite child, even though she doesn't have any more. It was a nightly ritual to talk to her on the phone before I went to bed. I guess it was a little later than I thought.

"Hey Rowan, how are you?" she asked.

I hesitated for a minute. She knew about Mallory, but not all about how she broke my heart and I was in love with her kind of way. As much as I needed to talk to her about it, tonight wasn't the night. It was late, I was tired, and I really didn't want to explain my problems while I was outside, vulnerable to anyone hearing me ranting to my mommy.

So instead, I laughed, "Fine. How are you and dad?"

"Oh doing just fine. Actually, amazing."

I was kinda taken aback. Usually she said fine then would start asking me annoying questions. "Oh? What's so amazing?"

"Well we want to tell you in person so Chiron's allowing you and Dane to come home for the weekend," she said giddily.

Well thanks mother, now I'm curious. We talked a little more about the plans for the weekend, and how she was coming to get both me and my male best friend, before we hung up. By that time, I was already sitting comfortably on my couch while Veronica watched TV beside me.

Once my phone was back in my pocket, Veronica questioned, "What was that about?"

"Well, I know you're going to be thrilled and all, but I'm leaving Saturday morning for the whole weekend."

She looked like I had just told her that she has won Miss America. "Oh my gosh, YES!" she screamed, and then ran to the back of the cabin to her room.

I shook my head. Oh, another day in the life of Rowan Di Angelo.

**Wow, that wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. But, hopefully, it was good enough to have you come back for the next chapter. Please review and tell me how I did? **


	2. Authors Note

**VERY IMPORTANT, DO NOT SKIP THIS NOTE!**

**Hey guys. I just wanted to let my fans know I will not be able to finish this story. If you haven't already guessed from my not updating in over a month, a lot of things have taken over my life. And I still love writing, but I just don't have the time or energy to sit at my computer and do this anymore. Now don't get me wrong, there might be a drabble or two that you get from Nico-lovin-4ever every once in a while, but nothing like this, that takes a lot of time and stamina.**

** So, the reason I was writing this in the first place, is to ask if anyone wants to continue it for me. Yeah, I know that sounds stupid. But you guys were promised a sequel about Rowans life and I want to give that to you for being great fans. Plus, someone else can give some added spunk to the story line I might have never thought of. So anyone reading this who would love to take up the challenge, please message me and we'll talk. I still have some ideas I would love to help you with and I'll ALWAYS read it and give advice. **

** Thanks for always being there for me when I wasn't sure where to turn next and I'm very appreciative of the amazing reviews I've gotten in the past. Some of you have made me smile the whole day with just one! **

** Keep your eye out for me, I just might be back with a little Thalico drabble every now and then. ;) **

**-Nico-lovin-4ever**


	3. Chapter 2

**You guys are probably wondering what I'm doing writing again. Well, because of my new partner, Lightning Punk, this story will be continued! We're working together to bring these chapters to you, so I just want to thank her for taking time to do this with me :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy our hard work! **

Rowans POV:

"You cannot seriously tell me that hot dogs are better than hamburgers Maya, There is no competition between the two! Hamburgers are just the shit, accept it," I told Maya as I walked from my closet to the suitcase lying on my bed. It was Saturday morning and, like any legit teenage guy would, I hadn't packed anything yet.

Since I would miss her over the weekend, not that she knew that, I had invited her over to my cabin. Currently, we were debating which one was better; hot dogs or hamburgers.

"Uhg! Whatever you say Rowan, you're just upset because you will never fully understand the amazingness of the hot dog," she sighed, sprawled out on my bed, watching as I tried to stuff the content of my cabin into my suitcase.

My response was to roll my eyes and turn away, walking across the dirty clothes on the floor to the dresser to get some boxers. Over the years I had learned that when Maya has an idea she's not one to admit your right for a _long _time.

I heard the bed creak behind me and Maya ask, "So, don't you find it at all strange that Chiron is just randomly letting you and Dane out of camp boundaries for a few days to go home, even though you just got here?"

I twisted towards her, with a pair of black boxers covered in white smiley faces in my hand. She was now sitting up, looking me in the eyes as she fumbled with my bed sheets trying to somewhat make them look decent. "I don't know and I don't really care," I replied, "All I know is that camp is already stressing me out and I need some time to just relax at home. Lately, all I can think about is…"

That's when I heard the door open and high heeled footsteps echo off the walls of the cabin. For a moment, I thought it was Victoria and went back to my packing, until I realized they were headed up the small stairs for my room.

Before I could yell 'Who's there?' Mallory burst into the room, eyes red and blotchy from either crying or, preferably but not likely, burning her face with acid. From the sob and tears she let out when she saw me, I crossed out the acid. I looked over at Maya to see her crossing her arms over her chest, staring at the wall not looking at me or Mallory.

"Baby, I heard you were leaving soon and I just had to apologize before you left. What I did- it was wrong and completely-"she started to blubber before being abruptly cut off.

"Can't you just see you've already hurt him enough?" Maya exploded, now standing, "All you do is play with him, if you really loved him, you would just except that you're a bitch and would let him find someone who wasn't going to stomp all over him every chance she got. Seriously, leave him alone!"

The room was silent, shock written across everyone's faces. It wasn't at all like Maya to do stuff like that. Usually, when Mallory was around, she would be deadly quiet and it would take all I had just to make her smile again.

Mallory's shock turned into an oh-no-you-just-didn't face and smugly said, "Well, you see hon, I didn't realize you were there and I wasn't really talking to you. If you didn't notice, I kind of want some alone time with him."

She then turned back to me gave me her classic I swear to the gods I love you and I'm sorry speech. By now I've heard it so much I swear I could recite it word for word, even better than I can recite Superbad. Short version: Apparently she needs me and would pick me over any guy in this whole camp. How I'm perfect and have everything a girl could ever need. Oh and how if I ever leave her she won't be able to go on. You know all that type of happy lovey dovey stuff.

I thought about all the stuff she had put me through and about the night she had broken my heart… for the second time.

*Flashback from 5 nights ago*

Mallory and I had been back together for five days and, as far as I could tell, completely happy. The past few days had been totally Olympus worthy; we kissed between activities, made out on Zeus' fist just that morning, laughed, talked, and something about all of it made me feel like everything in world was right.

That night, I was sitting in my cabin ignoring Victoria, doing a crossword puzzle, like any cool chill kid would do, when I got a weird message. It was some long, random number I didn't recognize saying to go out to the beach ASAP. I was kinda alarmed, I mean wouldn't you assume someone was going to lead you where they wanted you and kill you or something too if you got a message like that?

I ignored it until I got a new one, saying "I promise I'm not going to lead you out here to kill you. It's about Mallory and you need to see this". That's when I knew it must be a god or goddess, seeing how they had just read my mind. Plus who knows, Mallory might've been hurt… or cheating on me, but that wasn't something I wanted to think about.

So I put on my converses (black) and left the house, all the time thinking about what I might find when I got there. It was a beautiful night. There were no clouds in the sky to conceal the bright full moon, the stars were splattered across the open expanse of sky, and it smelled like pure summer. If the circumstances had been different, I might've actually enjoyed the quiet walk along the worn path.

When my feet finally hit the sand, I searched the beach for any figures. As soon as I started getting embarrassed and angry for believing in some random god's message, something caught my eye. At a first glance it looked like it was just the remnants of a sand castle, but a further look clarified my suspicions.

I walked over and saw my girlfriend underneath some guy. He was kissing her neck, making a small trail up to her lips, both of them giggling. The guy, some 17 year old child of Apollo whose name I really didn't care about at the moment, saw me first, his eyes widening right before I punched his lights out. Mallory let out a small gasp and looked me in the eyes, sorrow filling her face. I turned on my heel and left, listening to her screaming behind me about how it was all a misunderstanding.

I can't explain the feeling of someone breaking your heart in one short paragraph, but I do know that every time she pulled a stunt like this, I feel it. It was like I was in one of those scary movies. I was running a dark path, no one around, screams rushing through my head, but when I opened my mouth nothing came out. I would turn around every other second to see if she had caught up with me, to try and brainwash me into loving her again.

When I had finally made it to my cabin, I was breathing hard; partially from sprinting and partially from holding in tears. Once I closed my door, I slid down the nearest wall and put my head in my hands.

I couldn't tell you how long I stayed like that; you don't really think about stuff like time when someone cheats on you. At some point in the night, I gathered up my energy to grab my iPod and turn on my 'Mallory broke my heart again' playlist. By 10am the next morning, I had received probably 20 knocks on my door, at least half from Mallory, who I had nothing to say to, and the others from my best friends, trying to drag me out to eat or something horrible like that. Finally, I heard the one soft voice I could trust to not laugh at me in my horrible state.

"Rowan," Maya coaxed, "please let me in. I heard what happened and I know this is hard for you. But you need to talk to someone"

I unlocked the door from my position on the floor and waited to hear the familiar clanking of the Hades cabin door open. I refused to look her in the eyes as she closed the door behind her and slid down on the floor beside me.

"Look, you already know what I'm going to say after all this time. Not that you ever listen, but anyway, I want you to know you're not her prisoner. You can move on from this Hades she puts you through, all you have to do is believe in yourself. I mean come on Rowan she does this every time, you have a choice in this."

"Promise you'll," I hiccupped "help me? I really want to," hiccup," just tell her no this time. I'm so fucking tired, "hiccup," of this going on and on."

She gave me a hug and laughed at my hiccupping. We talked for a while, not actually about anything, mostly just enjoying each other's company. I even broke into smile a few times.

*Flashback Ended*

That's what so great about me and Maya's friendship. We could be ourselves with each other and not have to worry about being totally embarrassed. I mean, I'm crying like a three year old girl, not able to complete my thoughts coherently, hiccupping every 5 seconds and it's all good with her.

I looked at Maya and I knew she remembered her side of the promise. For her, I had to keep up with my end.

I turned around, closed my eyes, and sent Aphrodite a silent pray before saying, "No, you don't love me and I don't love you. Why don't you go hang out with all the guys you've cheated on me with? I'm sure they would be happy to have you back."

After the words left my mouth, I felt amazing, like I was free, didn't have to put up with her crap any more. I would never have to think about her cheating on me and being hurt ever again. Maya was right, somewhere out there, there's a girl perfect for me who wasn't going to hurt me over and over again.

Mallory's face contorted into a mixture of shock, grief, and anger. She blinked at me, as if to say 'are you serious?' then turned back and left the room without another word.

When we heard the front door finally close, Maya jumped off the bed and ran to hug me, nearly tackling me to the ground. "Oh my gods, I can't believe you finally did it! Congrats!"

Her smile was huge and her eyes sparkled, I had a feeling my face was nearly identical to hers. All of a sudden, something just came over both of us. My arms wrapped around her waist, and her hands went up around my neck, staring into each other's eyes. I wanted to kiss her, just a soft peck on the lips, almost like I did to my mom when I was younger nothing more

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, we both flew off of each other, blushing deep red. I ran a hand through my hair as she looked at her feet.

"WELL I guess I should go meet Dane at the tree. My mom will be here in….15 minutes," I announced, looking at my alarm clock on my bed for assistance. I kinda just wanted to get out of the awkward situation.

"Right, well, I guess I'll see you later. Have a nice weekend and text me, maybe, if you have time," she waved at me before walking out the door. I listened to her footsteps as they went quickly down the steps, through the foyer, then out the door.

I sighed, grabbed my bag, and then followed in her direction. I left the cabin and strutted through the camp, saying goodbye to practically everyone I passed. Being at camp for almost eight years, not including the first couple of my life, allowed me to get to know pretty much everyone here. Most of my closest friends though, are ones that are grandkids of the gods. Our parents had all been friends so ever since we were little we had been hanging out at cookouts and birthday parties together along with our parents.

Once I was finally at the tree looking out over camp, I realized I had a lot of time to myself. Dane was usually 'fashionably late' and my mom wasn't supposed to be here for another 10 minutes. I fed our guard dragon, Peleus, (sorry if I spelt it wrong) some strawberries from the farm and then sat underneath the tree the camp calls "Thalia's Tree" or what I like to call it, mom.

From the very beginning of my life, I had heard stories of my parents past. My favourite story, well the one that disturbs me the least, is the story of this tree and my mom. When she was about thirteen, she was almost killed in battle getting Annabeth and Luke safely back to camp, but because Zeus felt sorry for her, he decided to turn her into a tree for eternity instead. She would always tell me about how she would sit, day after agonizing day, watching the campers play while she couldn't do anything. Until the day Percy Jackson, my god-father and Maya's dad, brought back the Golden Fleece and turned her back into human.

Now, those stories just seem like myths and legends me and my fellow campers will never get to experience. I know I should be glad for the peace in my life, very different from my mom and dad's, but I can't. Adventures like the ones I've heard countless times seem amazing. Sometimes, Maya and I come out here after dinner just to talk about all the adventures we would go on. How we would slay every monster, finish our quest for the gods, then come back and be heroes to the camp, to our parents, to everyone.

But each year that passes uneventfully, I can't help but get a little more discouraged.

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw a struggling silhouette out of my peripheral vision. I turned to see Dane, carrying two huge suitcases up the hill where I was sitting. Laughing, I ran to help drag one of them up the rest of the hill.

"Dude, I thought you were a son of Nemesis, not Aphrodite!" I joked, grabbing one of the bags from his hands.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Well most of these are weapons. We're going to New York; it isn't safe there for demigods.

"NOT New York, somewhere close by." I replied.

A horn honked and I turned to see my mom in her Explorer, waving at me to come on. I waved back then turned to Dane, "Race you to the car," and then took off for a weekend away that I was totally not prepared for.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so it's been about 6 months since I've even thought about this story, and for that, I'm sorry. The person who was helping me stopped answering my messages, so I really didn't have the motivation to stay up late doing homework AND this. Anyway, since it's summer now, I'm ready to start off on a new foot. Hope you guys like where this story is going and forgive me for ditching you all for a while! **

Danes POV: 

"Hey boys, how are you guys?" Rowans mom asked as we jumped in the car. She gave her only son a kiss on the cheek as he slid in the passenger seat. Being a boy, he wiped it away almost immediately.

Today, she was wearing a black v-neck shirt with a pair of jean shorts, her hair tied up and out of her face. I'm not going to lie, she was pretty hot. Always had been, in my opinion. It even seemed like she was glowing this morning, maybe the summer sun had something to do with that.

"We're fine, mom," Rowan answered, buckling his seatbelt, "BUT, you could tell us why we're being taken out of camp."

She sighed, looking agitated, but not directly at Rowan, "Me and your dad actually have some good news and some bad news, and we figured you might as well hear it in person."

He turned back in his seat to give me a look that screamed 'someone's screwed', and then came back around to turn on the radio. For some reaosn, I had a feeling it was us.

His mom, Thalia, asked us random questions about our lives and camp. I kinda zoned out, letting Rowan answer everything, to sit back and think. Even if he didn't realize it, he was really lucky. He had two parents, living together, who were actually in love! Each time I visited, they looked so happy with each other; cuddling on the couch; kissing over the stove while making breakfast; dancing in the foyer to no music. The love everyone dreams of finding.

It always made it bittersweet. My dad was a successful divorce lawyer in Manhattan, living in a penthouse apartment up the corner from his law office. He loved me, I knew it down inside, but sometimes it was hard to tell. He would spend every waking moment working on this case and that case, mostly flirting with the upset, newly single women. Because of his job and hearing of all the heartbreak, the only "love" he allowed was making it with strange women. I never asked my dad how I came along, but my guess would be just that. He was probably upset it was my mom, Nemesis, that happened to get pregnant with his baby. At least if she was mortal, he would only have to worry about me on the weekends.

Because of this, when I wasn't going to my private school or doing homework, I was always at Rowans. It was an easy atmosphere and I seemed to be more familiar with the Di Angelo's than my own father. They treated me like their own son and I knew I could talk with them about anything. I think they knew my situation and tried their hardest to make me feel apart of the family. They even told me once that I reminded them of they're old friend Rachel, who is still our Oracle at camp.

Noticing my silence, both of them talked amongst themselves until we rolled in to the driveway a little later. I was glad for the distraction, pulling me out of my own thoughts. Even though I'm usually an outgoing, loud person, they always seemed to make me a little sadder than I was before.

"We'll be having lunch in half an hour, Percy and Annabeth will probably be coming, too," Thalia (she refused to let me call her Mrs. Di Angelo) announced as she got out of the car and rushed to the backyard.

Rowan looked at me and rolled my eyes at my confused look, "If you hadn't zoned out back there you would've known we're having a cookout. I think she's going to tell us the news then."

I nodded, noticing the look Rowan had. He seemed nervous , fidgeting with his fingers and biting his lip as he grabbed his bag out of the car. We had been friends since I showed up at the age of 10, I knew his strange tendencies like they were my own.

"What do you think it is?" I asked as we dragged our luggage in the front door and to the back of the three bedroom house, where Rowans room was.

Nico, Rowans dad, was in the kitchen with a big plate topped off with raw hamburgers. He looked older all of a sudden, like he was carrying a weight much more than that of raw meat. When he heard our footsteps, he smiled up at us but quickly went outside when he heard his wife calling for his attention.

We threw our bags on the bed and Rowan closed the door before answering, "I'm not sure, that's what scares me. It's like they don't know how to react to the news. One minute they seem happy, another, scared. I mean, I can't make any judgment until I know the real news but it worries me. Not to much scares them anymore…"

He trailed off, leaving me thinking. Everyone had heard the stories of their adventures and if they were worried, we should be too.

He opened the door and made a motion to the backyard. I nodded and let him lead me through the house, even if I could go there with my eyes closed.

Rowans POV 

It wasn't long until Annabeth and Percy showed up, which made me curious to why Maya wasn't invited to come. Even her younger sister was absent. With their distraught faces when they walked in our backyard, I figured it was 'for her own good'.

The hamburgers were served on toasted buns with American cheese melted all over them. I guess I could have them anytime I want at camp, but there's nothing like sitting in your own backyard, smelling the aroma of the meat, and waiting for news you're not sure you want to hear.

With joined hands, we said a prayer to the gods and began eating. My godparents, Annabeth and Percy, were sitting across from me and Dane as my parents sat on the end of each side. It was oddly quiet, no one wanting to break the silence. Just the sound of pickles crunching and jaws moving.

I was the one who finally broke it, "So, can someone please tell us the news. It has been a long night and morning of wondering for us."

The adults all shared a questioning look and my dad shrugged, "Okay, good news or bad news first."

We chose good, just to lighten the mood a little bit.

My dad looked at my mom with a big smile and rose his eyebrows. She gave a happy sigh and smiled bigger than she has all day, "Well, me and your dad are going to have another baby."

Silence. Everyone was looking at me to see how I would handle the news. The truth is, this is not what I was expecting. Sure, they're young enough to have a couple more kids if they wanted, but why? They know it's hard to have demi-god children, especially one from the children of two of the big three (dang, lots of numbers). Apparently I'm one of the most powerful demi-gods at camp, even though I haven't been able to show it. Except in capture the flag, i dominate that game, not gonna lie. And having a little sibling of my own? That will take some HUGE getting used to. But I can see the excitement on there faces. It seems like they may have been trying for this for a long while.

Not wanting to ruin the happy expressions on everyone's face, I forced a smile, "That's awesome! I'm so shocked."

They laughed and I looked to Dane for some guidance. If anyone could see past me, it was him. He nodded with a smile, and I knew that meant 'we'll talk about it later'.

Despite this wonderful news, I knew the bad news was still left behind.

"And the bad?" I asked.

Percy, who had finished his burger in record time, knew it was his time to speak. Annabeth looked like she could cry. "Well, ok. Maya has been abducted. And there's nothing we can do."

**Oh snap. Like? Dislike? Please comment and tell me, that would be great. And, if you're feeling in the mood to help, please visit percy jackson fanfic . webs (plus the .com, minus the spaces)**** and vote for my story Of Death and Roses. Just click on about us at the top and vote! Also, if anyone has any ideas about what I could do next chapter, please shoot me a message! I would love the fan help ****J**


End file.
